"Mommy, I Potty!"

Halleah is potty trained. She does really well with the occassional, "I am to busy playing to remember to potty opps."

And this past weekend was our first 4 hour car ride in undies. I sometimes take her out to the grocery store and running errands but never in a long car ride. She did wonderful! But our car ride back to Des Moines on Sunday has left me reconsidering our vocabulary and strategy :)

It was late when we left the lake house on Sunday. So we made an executive lazy parent strategy and put Halleah in a diaper for the car ride. Better safe than sorry and hopefully she would sleep anyway. Right?

We are near Rockwell City and she says to me, "mommy, potty?" We are close to a gas station and we want to encourage this telling behavior so we tell her to wait a few minutes and we'll go potty.

We stopped at a Caseys, I think it was a Caseys. Matt stays in the car with Matty and I grab Halleah, her Dora toilet seat and head into the gas station. Great... a unisex bathroom, but no line. Ok, here goes.

Halleah and I go into the bathroom and go through the routine. I put her on the toilet and the entire time that she is peeing she is yelling, in this sing-song voice... "Mommy, I potty. Mommy, I potty. Mooommmy, I POTTY'D." I'm laughing with her and encouraging her. Good job big girl, I'm proud. :)

After we get her situated I tell her, "mommy's turn." She says ok and of course goes to investigate the urnal. Gross. I distract her and she goes to check out the supply cabinet.

Just as I finish using the restroom she turns around and looks at me... in the loudest voice I have EVER heard her use she says "MOMMY POTTY'D!!! GOOD JOB MOMMY!" with her approving head nod. Whose child is this?

I open the bathroom door to leave. There are two guys in line for the restroom now and the store clerk. All of whom look my direction and are fighting laughter. And behind me strolls my daughter, Dora potty on her arm, still talking about how she potty'd. I smile and nod at the gentleman and make a beeline for the car while the laughter erupts.

I am sure by now that everyone in Rockwell City knows I potty'd.